In the face of the planetary crisis of climate change, the “Global
Warming… Yes, There is a Solution!” videoconference was held in the
capital city of Lima, Peru on September 12. Supreme Master Ching Hai graciously accepted the invitation to attend as guest of honor.

The
event was broadcast live on RBC Television's Channel 11 and on Radio
Latina at 990 AM, reaching more than 50,000 listeners. Guests speakers
included Argentine film and television star Nicolas Paúls; Director of
the Disasters Prevention and Study Center Gilberto Romero Zevallos; and
sociologist and author Cecelia Mendiola.

Notable individuals
such as the founder and president of People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PETA), Ingrid Newkirk, and the US director of Public Health
and Animal Agriculture for the Humane Society International, Dr.
Michael Greger, sent their messages of support via video.

Igrid
Newkirk(f):I urge every one of you to please go home with the message
that being purely vegetarian is the best thing for the animals, the
best thing for you and your health, for our children, and the best
thing for the Earth.

Dr. Greger(m):To help prevent future
pandemics, we need to end the industrialized production of animals for
food. Or, even better…, cease eating animals altogether.

We
now invite you to join us for the rebroadcast of the live
videoconference with Supreme Master Ching Hai entitled “Global Warming:
Yes, There is a Solution!” held on September 12, 2009 in Lima, Peru.

Dr. Michael Greger, the Director of Public Health and Animal
Agriculture at Humane Society International，the author of the book
“Bird Flu: Virus of Our Own Hatching,” :Researchers in 1989 at the
German Cancer Research Center showed that although vegetarians and meat
eaters have the same number of immune system cells，the white blood
cells of vegetarians are twice as effective in destroying target cells.
So that means not only cancer cells，but virus-infected cells as well.
So a plant-based diet may protect against pandemic influenza both now
and in the future.

David Román，President of the Vegetarian Union in Spain:The interest
in how eating is impacting the environment has already caused Belgium
to officially establish one vegetarian day a week in which everyone is
encouraged to lead a vegetarian diet even if it is only that one day a
week. This initiative has had an exceptional reception and it is to be
extended to many other countries around the world. We believe that it
is a very important step. It should serve as an example and motivate us
to broaden this initiative.

Miss Wendy Lau Cordero，a student of chemistry at the National
University Mayor de San Marcos, participants in the Tunza
Program，』Treating our Planet with Care and Affection，』 from the United
Nations for the Environment :The summit meeting of the top leaders for
UNEP is going to take place on September ２２nd，so what we propose for
this conference is for young people，as well as adults and children，to
take action and strongly promote in our countries the signing of an
agreement in December in Copenhagen where Peru has also been invited.
And then we have an activity on September １９，which is planting trees.
What we want is for countries to plant trees on the same day to prevent
the increase of CO２ which is affecting us tremendously with all these
new events that are happening in our life. We also have the petition
for climate change，which is the petition that has been sent through
email，through the internet for all the young people，adults，all of us
who want to support this campaign，to sign it. This website is www.pnuma.org／sellemos／index.php.
We have as well the date for the assembly of climate change; we are
going to present the petition there and we hope to get over １０，０００
signatures from young people and people from all over the world. And on
October ２４th，there’s going to be a worldwide event. This is the day
when we will demand that the amount of CO２ be reduced to ３５０ parts per
million in the air.

One fact is clear: if we stop meat consumption and livestock
raising，we will also eliminate one of the most heat-trapping
gases，which is methane. And since this gas disappears more quickly from
the atmosphere，the planet will cool almost immediately. This will also
address problems like the melting permafrost，which will otherwise emit
more methane if nothing is done to halt it.

Professor Schellnhuber said that the world’s population cannot be
sustained on the energy and land demands of a meat diet. So，a switch to
vegetarianism or veganism is needed to continue supporting our life on
Earth. So this is the scientific perspective. But you are right also
about approaching climate change from a spiritual standpoint. Every
religion speaks in some way of the law of karma，or 』as you sow，so shall
you reap.』 This is explained through science as a principle of
physics，which says every action causes an equal consequence. So the law
of karma (retribution) and science are the same - meaning that whatever
we do is returned to us. From this perspective，we would obviously wish
to avoid killing; otherwise，we will reap the killing karma
(retribution) in return.

One of the first things we have to do is to reduce solid waste –
what we call 』rubbish，』 we can reduce it. We can use all the organic
waste，we can make eco-silos，we can compost，and at the same time，create
a by-product that we can use in our patio gardens，or in pot
planting，etc. Second，we can reduce our energy consumption by using
energy saving bulbs，turning off lights and all the electrical
appliances，unplugging things that are on stand-by，that many electrical
appliances have，right？ On top of In this way，we can reduce energy
greatly. Let me remind you that all energy generated is fossil fuel
based，which generates CO２，right？Luckily our country has hydroelectric
energy but we can reduce consumption. Another very important thing is
to change our consumption habits. For example，we，as an organization，are
promoting organic agriculture and we have a campaign called 『Five a
Day，』 which encourages families to eat five fruits or vegetables a
day，which，besides benefiting your personal health，also
benefits the environment.

Remember，we are all energy consumers and as consumers we have to
learn to be responsible consumers. So，when we go to the market，we
refuse plastic bags. Because the plastic bags require a lot of energy
to be produced，and let me remind you that they are made of fossil
fuels. Let’s use our cloth bags. When you go shopping，read the labels
in order to know whether the company you are buying from is a
responsible company in social and environmental aspects，whether they
protect the ozone layer，and whether they fulfill all technical
regulations that the country requires. We have to know the market
more，because many times，the market，in which we are all involved，affects
us and guides us.

The cost of a hamburger appears to us as cheap. But without the
enormous subsidies involved in the meat industry, the real monetary
cost of a hamburger would be much higher, much higher, at least US$12.
There are so many costs and resources involved for that one hamburger
that you are asking about, from the field to the plate, and all the
processes in between. From burning the precious forests to growing the
corn and soy to feed the cows, to making the fertilizer and watering
these feed crops, to giving the cows huge amounts of healthy land and
water, hormones and antibiotics are also forcefully fed to the cows,
and we will eat all that. Then, the transport over long distances here
and there and finally to the slaughterhouse, to freezing the meat so
that it does not rot as it is supposed to, then finally, it has to be
cooked before reaching the plate - and cooked well because, for
example, the US Department of Agriculture found that 89% of beef
hamburger patties contained traces of the deadly E. coli bacteria.
Eighty-nine percent of the beef hamburger contains traces of E. coli.
There is more that goes in the hamburger than what you think you see.
Here are just a few examples. Destruction of land: First, land must be
cleared to raise the cows. For one hamburger, there are 55 square feet
of destroyed tropical rainforest, which is an equivalent of 75
kilograms of CO2, or driving your car for 5 days straight. Also,
biodiversity loss. In the process, we lose up to 30 plant species, 100
insect species – I mean the beneficial one as well - and dozens of
birds, mammals, etc. Now, it contributes to hunger. Some of the
deforested land is used to grow grains. Oftentimes, poor families are
forced off their land in the process. One hamburger costs 4 pounds of
grain that was consumed by the cow - that’s about 3 loaves of bread or
8 plates of spaghetti that could have fed a number of hungry people.
So, another cold cost of a hamburger is human starvation. Now, we have
topsoil loss: Also, by the way, For that one hamburger, 8.75 10 pounds
of topsoil for farming are eroded and lost for hundreds of years, a
very serious problem. Now, greenhouse gases. Next, one hamburger alone
is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. The methane gas emitted
for that piece of meat alone weighs 2.5 and approximately 4.7 ounces,
but it has the same heat-trapping effect as 3.6 and 6.8 pounds of CO2,
because methane is very potent.

There is saturated fat which causes heart disease and stroke, there
are also extra things, such as growth-inducing hormones, traces of the
antibiotics that are fed regularly to the poor cows – the actual
bacteria that are resistant to those antibiotics. These resistant
bacteria are called superbugs. So, the added cost here is a multi-fold
risk to our health. There are even more costs after the hamburger is
eaten. For example, a woman loses 28 milligrams of calcium after eating
just one hamburger, which weakens her bones. And there is rampant risk
of potentially deadly E. coli infection, as beef is a primary source of
this bacteria. And again, there are risks of heart disease, cancer, mad
cow disease, bird flu, pig disease, swine flu and other meat-related
diseases.

As for the bigger picture of how much meat eating is costing our
planet – here are the cows in such unnaturally huge numbers, more than
1 billion on the planet, are responsible for more than 50% or even far
more, of total greenhouse gas emissions on Earth. Nitrous oxide, which
is 300 times more potent than CO2, is being emitted in vast quantities
from the fertilizers required to produce the food crops for the cattle.
The livestock industry produces at least 67% of all the world’s nitrous
oxide emissions.

We must handle it now, not tomorrow. The smartest way would be to
stop the worsening of global warming by being vegan. It sounds very
simple but it is the best solution. The most effective and the effect
of it will be felt almost immediately. Without this main, most
time-effective change, no matter what we try to do, it won’t be enough
to repel the worst consequences that we have accumulated. Moreover, the
problems we already face now - such as the warming atmosphere, water
shortage, food scarcity, desertification – we can quickly eliminate by
stopping meat production. Stop it now, no further!.

We can write letters to all these meat-industrial-responsible
persons and tell them all these truths. We gather information and send
it to them. Tell them they should change their profession. Tell them
they should change to save the planet. Tell them they should be organic
vegan farmers instead, or many other jobs nowadays –green technology.
This truth, our need to stop the killing of animals, is the only one
that will stabilize the Earth physically, as well as bringing peace and
restoring hope to humans and the planet.

It is not that most humans intend to destroy. Many simply do not
understand, are not informed. They don’t realize the harmful emissions
of the livestock industry, or that killing begets killing, and they are
not aware that meat is another kind of addictive poison. They are not
aware that meat is destroying our planet. God does not interfere with
free will. And if the people don’t know, they may sadly choose from
ignorance. But we have the chance to change all that now, because we
know what we need to change.

I have mentioned before that we have already reached the veg
critical mass on Earth - meaning that the momentum created by the
number of people who have already become veg is like a wave that is
helping others join in. But we still need everyone in the world to be
veg. Because of how long we have waited to make such a change. So now
we need 100% of the world population to be veg to save our world. We
have to change before it is too late to change. Because if we don’t
change now, later when we want to change, it won’t be helpful anymore.

We must protect their lives because their lives are our lives.
They’re here to balance the planetary atmosphere. They’re here to help
heal us and heal the planet. We must protect their lives. We must act
in a compassionate way. It is true that we need to stop the global
warming emissions, but equally important is to stop killing the beings
that have done nothing wrong but only offer us their love and
immeasurable services. Besides my own inner communication with the
animals, there are many other people who are very gifted in this realm,
known as animal telepathic communicators, who themselves have revealed
messages from such noble beings, such as dogs, horses, birds, seals,
whales, etc. These animals wish to convey only their abiding love for
humanity and their desire to remain on Earth so that they can continue
transmitting that love.

The latest report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change spoke of Latin America’s vulnerability to severe climate
impacts. Peru is among the first to feel these impacts, as seen in the
following: 1. Farmers in the Cusco highlands are suffering already from
irregular, scarcer rain and extreme heat. 2. Due to excessive heat and
droughts over the last 12 years, 140,000 hectares of potatoes and corn
have been ruined – equal to food that could have fed 11 million people
in the country. It’s been ruined. 3. In the central Piura area, springs
that used to provide drinking water until recently are drying up. 4.
Mosquitoes causing dengue fever are also being seen for the first time
in Piura, as they spread to new areas due to climate change. 5. Peru is
home to 70% of the entire range of Andean glaciers, with peaks that
supply the country’s people with both water and hydroelectric power;
however, these are all expected to disappear by 2015, just a few more
years. 6. The glaciers in the Andes mountain range so far lost more
than 20% of their volume. This is threatening the water supply for 30
million people. In Peru, the loss to glaciers is equivalent to 10 whole
years of water supply for Lima city. 7. The Cordillera Blanca, a
snow-topped northern mountain range of your country, sometimes called
“Peruvian Switzerland,” you know about it, has been steadily
disappearing due to climate change. 8. A warming climate has resulted
in the 2008 disappearance of the Quilca Mountain snow cap, and in 2007
the Broggi Glacier also vanished, disappeared, completely. 9. In early
2009, the Quilca Glacier disappeared completely. Now it’s gone. It’s
gone now. 10. With 8 of the country’s water basins already noted as
being insufficient to meet people’s needs, Peru’s President Andy Garcia
announced in 2008 the construction of two desalination plants to try to
address the water scarcity. It’s that urgent already in Peru. 11.
Dwindling water supplies have caused escalating tensions and even
conflicts to erupt as many people, including disadvantaged farmers,
don’t have enough water, or are struggling for their share. 12. By
2020, it is predicted that up to 77 million people in Latin America
will face water shortages. 13. In the past 6 years, Peru had at least 3
extreme temperature events and floods affecting more than 500,000
people. Within just 30 years, floods increased by more than 60%, and
mudflows increased by 400%. 14. president Andy Garcia declared a state
of emergency in 2009 due to climate change-related severe cold and
freezing conditions in the southern Andes that caused the death of
nearly 250 children, and sickened many others. I have contributed my
humble share to purchase children’s warm clothes for this matter. But
this is not the permanent solution. The permanent solution is we have
to stop this to happening again. We have to stop climate change. We
have to stop this kind of disaster that kills the children in Peru and
sickens many other children as well as adults and the vulnerable like
the elders, the weak and already sick. 15. In Chimbote, Peru, heavy
pollution from 40 fishmeal manufacturing manufacturers causes
documented human illness and increasing oceanic dead zones, with the
ground-up fish being fed to caged salmon, creating yet another
environmental imbalance and sickness to humans.